Home Standard1 Standard2 Standard3 Standard4 Standard6 Standard7 Standard8 Standard9 Standard10

Standard 5


Classroom Management and Motivation


The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-motivation.

Rationale 5: Math 4 Today is a daily activity included in the fourth grade math curriculum. Mondays through Thursdays the students complete four math problems covering a variety of math state standards. On Fridays they complete a ten question test comprised of what they covered during the week and the weeks prior. Instead of having the complete it the traditional way with paper and pencil, students utilized the Senteo Smart Interactive Response System. Students would enter their responses on clickers and I would know immediately which students understood the questions, and which students needed further review. It also was engaging for the students and forced every child to submit an answer, unlike the paper and pencil method. Come test day, the software scored the assessments for the teacher. The teacher enters in all the information and the correct answers. Then the computer assigns each student a percentage.

Evidence 5:

5.K.4 The teacher understands the principles of effective classroom management and can use a range of strategies to promote routines and positive relationships, cooperation, and purposeful learning in the classroom.

The clicker system promotes routines. When they enter the classroom, students are to take a clicker and sign in. When we have completed all the questions, the teacher clicks “finish,” and the students’ scores are revealed. They are motivated to do well and want to circle graph to reveal “100% correct.”

5.S.6 The teacher analyzes the classroom environment and makes decisions and adjustments to enhance social relationships, student motivation and engagement, and productive work.

Students get into a routine of retrieving the clickers when they enter, and putting them back when they are finished. When the entire class gets 100% on a problem, we do a, “1 , 2, 3…team clap!” This increases student motivation to do their best and builds classroom community. The students are excited when everyone performs well and we do the “team clap.” They are also willing to help others who are having trouble with their clickers. When we review the problems, students are excited to share how they found their answers.

5.D.3 The teacher values the role of students in promoting each other’s learning and recognizes the importance of peer relationships in establishing a climate for learning.

Students paired off and worked cooperatively completely their wiki page. They either worked together the entire time, or divided up the responsibilities and put it all together towards the end. It is important for students to have opportunities to work together to accomplish a goal. Sharing opinions and ideas with others is a favorable attribute that will be useful throughout their lives.